Three Days

Wednesday Gospel Refection: Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome

Since the Passover of the Jews was near,
Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves,
as well as the money-changers seated there.
He made a whip out of cords
and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen,
and spilled the coins of the money-changers
and overturned their tables,
and to those who sold doves he said,
“Take these out of here,
and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.”
His disciples recalled the words of Scripture,
    Zeal for your house will consume me.
At this the Jews answered and said to him,
“What sign can you show us for doing this?”
Jesus answered and said to them,
“Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”
The Jews said,
“This temple has been under construction for forty-six years,
and you will raise it up in three days?”
But he was speaking about the temple of his Body.
Therefore, when he was raised from the dead,
his disciples remembered that he had said this,
and they came to believe the Scripture
and the word Jesus had spoken.

~John 2:13-22

In today’s Gospel, we read about money changers seated in the Temple. It is the well-known story of Jesus flipping the tables. This does not mean we are justified in flipping the monopoly board… Jesus is angered as he sees the lack of respect the people have for his Father’s house. For Jesus, the temple was the place to worship the Father. The Father who loves everybody equally and whose love cannot be bought. Like the money changers, we can enter into negotiations with God. Saying things like. “if you do this for me, I will do that for you.” We can quickly turn our relationship with God into a type of transaction. When we spend time in prayer, do we seek God, or do we seek what he can give us?

Let us focus on giving God our open ears and hearts. Find times of silence in your busy day. Spend a few minutes now just concentrating on God without any agenda, just in his company.